Accelerating Open Finance in Latin America: Innovation that doesn’t have to wait for regulation
The Challenge
The Standoff: Innovation vs. Regulatory Uncertainty for banks in Latin America, the roadmap to Open Finance has often been clouded by uncertainty. While institutions understand that open ecosystems are key to future business models, the slow pace of regulation in markets like Colombia, Chile and others has created some hesitation.
The primary fear is “throw-away investment”—spending too much on technology today that might not adhere to the specific technical standards finalized by regulators tomorrow. Consequently, many banks remain frozen, waiting for the “final rulebook” while losing ground to nimbler fintech competitors and international players. The market needed a solution that allowed banks to innovate immediately without gambling on future compliance requirements.
The Solution
A powerful combination enabling banks to deliver a Dual Strategy of being an API Provider and Consumer. The partnership allows banks to move quickly and implement a dual strategy that drives value on both sides of the equation:
- As API Providers: FIs use the platform to expose data sharing, payment and service initiation APIs allowing them to embed their products and services into partner channels and monetize data access well before regulators mandate it.
- As API Consumers: Finerio Connect’s technology enables these same institutions to aggregate external data, giving their customers a holistic financial view directly within the bank’s own channels.
This creates an “ecosystem in a box” where banks are not just ready to check the compliance box, but actively innovating and commercializing Open Finance ahead of regulations.
Future-Proofing Across Borders
The core strength of the alliance is its ability to future-proof the bank’s technology stack. Because the Ozone API platform is built to support every global standard from a technical standpoint (FAPI, OAuth) and an operational standpoint (UK Open Banking, Open Finance Brazil, KSA, CBUAE and others), it acts as a translation layer meaning that as new standards and frameworks emerge the platform can be updated without downstream activity for the bank.
The Results
Banks can launch now delivering open APIs based on proven global best practices. When local regulators in Colombia or Chile eventually publish or change their specific standards, the platform handles the complexity of the update. This removes the risk of “throw-away investment,” ensuring that the infrastructure built today remains compliant and operational tomorrow.
This way, financial institutions are able to create partnerships that generate value based on business cases and in many cases recoup all or part of their investment before any regulatory requirements are in effect. Those financial institutions that are able to move first with their API are able to garner the most effective partnerships in quantity and quality while gaining a leg up on the laggards who wait for regulation to take hold.
Conclusion: Proven Success in the Region
This model is already proving successful across multiple markets. In Colombia, Guatemala, and Chile, the partnership has helped banks break the “wait and see” cycle. These clients are currently orchestrating live ecosystems, testing commercial use cases, and driving financial inclusion. They have successfully transitioned from a passive stance to a proactive one, securing a first-mover advantage that will be difficult for competitors to replicate once regulations are fully enforced.
Our alliance with Ozone API has been a game-changer for the region. We realized early on that waiting for regulation was a missed opportunity. Together, we are proving that Open Finance is a business model, not just a compliance checkbox. By launching live ecosystems in Colombia, Chile, and Guatemala ahead of the regulators, we aren’t just preparing our clients for the future; we are helping them build it today.
Nick Grassi
Co-CEO, Finerio Connect
